<p>I'm currently a high school senior and we are working on budgeting college. After scholarships I have received so far, my costs are down to roughly $5,000. My mom and I were plugging our numbers in the FAFSA4caster to get a rough idea of how much financial aid I could potentially get; it estimated my EFC to be above $6,000 and therefore disqualified me from a pell grant.
I have a family of six with roughly $78,000 annual income (my parents'). We have less than $500 in our bank account and no investments, pretty much living paycheck to paycheck. We make it but there is certainly no extra cash floating around. Will I seriously not get a pell grant when these are our circumstances?</p>
<p>You will seriously not get a Pell Grant. Your income is too high. Your FAFSA EFC would need to be less than $5000 or so to qualify for any portion of the Pell. </p>
<p>You should run the Net Price Calculators on EACH separate college website for schools to which you plan to apply. The NPCs will give you a decent estimate of your out of pocket costs for that school. </p>
<p>Are you saying you have received sufficient financial aid from a college to cover all but $5000 of the cost of attendance? If so, you can take the $5500 Direct Loan which freshmen can take to cover that $5000 shortfall. In addition, you can and should get a 10 hour or so per week job to cover your incidental expenses.</p>
<p>What state are you in? There are some states where a $6k efc might get you some state aid. Check into that. Some of the direct loan may be subsidized, i.e. the government pays the interest while you are in school. Also, work as much as you can during the summer to help cover the costs.</p>
<p>According to other threads, the student is instate for Michigan. If this student is a strong applicant, University of Michigan pledges to meet full need for all accepted Michigan residents. </p>
<p>Thanks everyone! I’ve already looked into on-campus jobs, but my school only allows those who meet their extreme financial need criteria to be employed there. Like I said, money is tight. The income for our family is on the high end but with a mortgage and two cars plus a family of six’s regular expenses, money depletes quickly. I’m on my own paying for college. Thanks again for the help y’all :)</p>
<p>It sounds like your on campus jobs are funded through work study, which is a need based award. What about getting an off campus job? </p>
<p>@thumper1 I’m definitely hoping there will be some available once I get there, but my school is in a VERY small town haha. Things will work out I’m sure.</p>
<p>And back to my other post…if you are $5000 short…the $5500 Direct Loan will cover that. Or is that already included in your calculations?</p>
<p>It is not. I’m bit of a rookie at this and I’m just applying for everything I can find; I actually didn’t even know about the direct loan until you had mentioned it and I’m researching it now 
@thumper1 </p>
<p>Just be sure that any scholarships you have are renewable for all four years. You want to be able to remain at this college until you graduate. One year, freshman only awards aren’t goiing to be as important as four year awards.</p>
<p>The Direct Loans are available to all students who complete a FAFSA and are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The amounts are $5500 freshman, $6500 sophomore, and $7500 each year for junior and senior.</p>
<p>You have to complete the FAFSA annually for these loans. They are student loans…no parent cosigner needed.</p>
<p>I disagree about the one year awards. TAKE THEM! All money is good to have. Yes, you need to be aware that they are for one year and you’ll need to replace that money somehow for the future years, but don’t turn away money now. There are awards available for future years - department scholarships, awards from your area of study (journalism, society of women engineers, accountants). If you are offered a $2000 loan only good for one year, that’s $2000 in loans you don’t have to take, and therefore don’t have to repay. If one of your siblings will be in school while you are still there, you may then qualify for a Pell.</p>
<p>OP, talk to the schools you are accepted to. Ask about scholarships you may be eligible for. Talk to your guidance counselors about awards available in your area as there are often civic organizations that give them. See if either of your parents work for a place that has small awards. </p>
<p>I never said the OP shouldn’t TAKE the one year awards. I simply pointed out that she needs a four year plan for paying…not a one year stop gap measure. Renewable awards are more important when finances are a serious consideration. </p>
<p>I’m hoping she has received scholarships from the colleges themselves that will reduce her costs to $5000 a year. If that is the case, those Direct Loans will cover the remaining costs.</p>
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I’m currently a high school senior and we are working on budgeting college. After scholarships I have received so far, my costs are down to roughly $5,000. My mom and I were plugging our numbers in the FAFSA4caster to get a rough idea of how much financial aid I could potentially get; it estimated my EFC to be above $6,000 and therefore disqualified me from a pell grant.</p>
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<p>Look closely at those awards. Are they one time awards? or are they FOUR YEAR awards? If they are only for one year, then how will you pay for the other 3 years? </p>
<p>What school is this? </p>
<p>@mom2collegekids in full honesty I don’t feel comfortable posting more personal information than what I already have. The scholarships I have received so far are for four years and are the automatic merit-based scholarships granted to me solely as a result of my grades and ACT scores.</p>
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Congratulation!
With Direct Loans (see post #9), you’re all set for college.</p>
<p>Since you plan to go to school in what seems like a small town with not a whole lot of job opportunities, I suggest you get a job sooner rather than later if you don’t already have one to provide you with experience to land a job once you arrive at college. Also, the earlier you get a job the more money you can save to help you with additional expenses. Good luck!</p>
<p>Excellent! You have scholarships for four years…and the Direct Loan can cover the balance. A job now or even babysitting every weekend, and a summer job, should,give you spending money.</p>
<p>Will one or more of your siblings attend college during any of your college years?</p>
<p>Do your parents know about the (up to) $2500 American Opportunity Tax Credit?</p>
<p>Though you may have missed out on the PELL grant, bear in mind that the amount you would have iikely gotten at minimum level would have been about $600. Every dollar counts, I know, but some who qualify have thought they would get the maximum amount that goes to those with a zero EFC which is 10X that amount, and it does not work that way </p>
<p>I give you a lot of credit for working on getting money for your college. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Make sure you have checked the renewal requirement for the scholarships. Some may have a rather though criteria (e.g. GPA>3.5).</p>